A convicted supporter of the Islamic State group opened fire inside a university classroom in Virginia, killing one person and injuring two others before he was killed.
In a separate incident in Michigan, a Lebanon-born US citizen rammed his truck into a synagogue and its preschool facility before he was shot dead.
The two violent incidents, which occurred within a short period of each other, have heightened concerns about possible attacks on US soil.
The fears come amid growing tensions in the Middle East following airstrikes by US and Israeli forces on Iran, and retaliatory strikes by Iran targeting Israel and Gulf states hosting US bases, escalating conflict across the region.
A convicted Islamic State supporter opened fire in a Virginia university classroom, killing one person and injuring two others before he was killed, while in Michigan a Lebanon-born US citizen crashed his truck into a synagogue and its preschool and was shot dead.
The back-to-back outbursts of violence added to rising concerns about the possibility of attacks on US soil amid the tension since US and Israeli forces launched airstrikes on Iran, and Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states with US bases, sparking an intensifying war across the region.
Authorities in Michigan said the suspect’s vehicle crash sparked a fire inside the synagogue, filling the building with smoke.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard disclosed that 30 law enforcement officers were taken to hospital after suffering smoke inhalation during the emergency response.
“What happens around the world sometimes affects us, so we have to prepare for it,” Bouchard said.
On Thursday night, the US Department of Homeland Security identified the driver of the truck as Ayman Ghazali, a 41-year-old man born in Lebanon who became a US citizen in 2016.
Investigators revealed that Ghazali had reportedly been traumatised after an Israeli airstrike struck his family’s village in Lebanon roughly 10 days earlier, killing two of his brothers and two of their children, according to CBS News, as authorities continued probing his motive.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it had taken over the investigation into what special agent Jennifer Runyan described as a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.”
Officials said the suspect rammed his truck through the synagogue’s entrance doors and drove along a hallway inside the building before a security officer opened fire on him, according to Bouchard.
The attacker died during the confrontation, although authorities said it remained unclear whether he was killed by the security officer or took his own life.
In a separate incident earlier on Thursday, the FBI also launched a terrorism investigation following a shooting at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, that left one person dead and two others injured, both of whom are members of the US Army.
Officials said the three victims were affiliated with the university, which maintains strong ties with the military and has a student population that includes nearly one-third service members.
The gunman in the Virginia attack was also killed after being subdued by a group of Reserve Officer Training Corps students, according to FBI special agent Dominique Evans, who briefed reporters later.
She said the suspect shouted “Allahu Akbar” – an Arabic phrase meaning “God is great” – before he opened fire.
Authorities later identified the gunman as Mohamed Jalloh, who had previously pleaded guilty in 2016 to federal charges of providing material support to Islamic State, the militant group operating in Syria and Iraq. He was released from prison in 2024.
Data from the FBI shows that antisemitic incidents have surged across the United States in recent years. Anti-Jewish cases account for nearly two-thirds of more than 5,300 religiously motivated hate crimes recorded since February 2024.
“Antisemitism has no place in Michigan and cannot be tolerated,” Michigan’s attorney general Dana Nessel said in a statement. “In moments like these, it’s more important than ever that we come together, stand with our neighbors, confront hate whenever it appears, and build stronger communities.”
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he had been briefed on the Michigan attack and described the incident as terrible.
“I want to send our love to the Michigan Jewish community and all of the people in the Detroit area following the attack on the Jewish synagogue earlier today,” he said.
Jewish and Islamic organisations across the United States have been operating under heightened security measures since the US and Israel began military strikes on Iran on February 28.
“We’ve been talking for two weeks about the potential, sadly, of this happening. So there was no lack of preparation,” Bouchard said on CNN. “All Jewish facilities in the area are going to have a lot of extra presence around it until we figure this out.”
Tension has remained high across the country since the outbreak of the conflict. Security scares have been reported at airports in Kansas City and in suburbs of Washington, while two men were recently arrested in connection with igniting homemade bombs during a chaotic anti-Islam protest outside Gracie Mansion in New York City.
Police said the suspects involved in the Gracie Mansion incident told investigators they were inspired by Islamic State.
